


Memories Valid and False: In Remembrance of the Last Apokine

by NeitherNora



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 16:05:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8291930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeitherNora/pseuds/NeitherNora
Summary: Maxine Ming visits the grave of a fallen friend.





	

_**Thirty years after the September Incident…** _

She closed her eyes and soaked in the last few moments of warmth as the sun set behind her. A gentle breeze drifted by, rustling trees and tossing her hair. She opened her eyes to be met with the perfect white stone before her. A simple, plain statue. A concession to history. It had taken years for Apostalos to be anywhere near comfortable with imagery of the Last Apokine, but no one would disrespect the dead. Not on Apostalos. She came here every year on the anniversary of their victory. She’d translated a handful of the words on its base over the years: They got a grand total of three adjectives, a proverb, and a birth and death date. The Apostalosians certainly knew how to honor their dead. 

She sighed, watching the sun set behind the monument. As she turned to leave, respects paid for the next year, she saw an Apostalosian. Their clothes were simple, but clearly of very high quality. They approached slowly, the soft tapping of a cane echoing off the marble. 

“Ah, don’t let me interrupt.” they said, voice gruff with age. Despite the frailty of their legs, she saw that their hands were still perfectly steady. 

“Oh, no, it’s fine. I was just leaving.” 

They nodded, then looked the statue over.“Bigger than I thought it’d be.” Their face carried an edge, aged beyond their years by war. 

“Yes.” she nodded back. “I heard it was commissioned by Godlove.” 

A moment passed. The old Apostalosian looked up at the statue and sighed. “They got the face wrong.” 

It was the face of Apokine. “You’re right.” she said, looking back up at it. She could feel the Apostalosian’s eyes on her. 

“You knew Cassander.” 

It wasn’t a question. She nodded. And then the Apostalosian was at her side, hand steady on her shoulder. 

“You may not believe this,” they said, voice excited, but kept low. “but I did too.” 

She turned, held out her hand in greeting. “Maxine Ming. I went t-” No, she didn’t. “I went to school with Cassander.” 

A smile. A handshake. 

“Koda.” 

Tears in the eyes. 

“I’m glad…I’m glad there are still people who remember Cassander. The real Cassander.” 

They traded stories over dinner. About Cass, about the Chime. The words on the statue lingered in her mind, both a warning to future rulers and a memorial to the one who killed Rigour. 

_This is what we could be._


End file.
